Bad alternator?
Thread Starter
Junior Member
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 66
From: Dallas
Bad alternator?
When the car is in drive while standing still or is moving very slowly, the RPMs drop and a light shutter occurs when the automatic headlights turn on. This also happens when one of the auto windows finishes the up/down cycle, the heated seats are turn on, etc. Could this be an alternator problem or something else? Or is this just how the car is? Never have had this issue with any other car in the past. Thanks.
Senior Member
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 8,143
From: a meadow south of Atlanta
There is also this possibility - Nissan takes advantage of the CVT's lack of RPMs being tied directly to the speed of the car and the gear we are in and sets the RPMs lower than they would normally be on a geared tranny. This is one of the primary reasons the CVT can be set up to save fuel, while saving fuel with a manual tranny would require the driver to shift earlier than normal in order to accomplish this same savings.
But one result of setting the RPMs low is that the engine will idle at just above the stalling point. Any sudden additional power requirement has the possibility of causing the engine to briefly shudder, especially if the RPMs are slightly lower than specs stipulate, or if there is any kind of weakness in the electrical system.
I used to sometimes experience this kind of shudder back in the 1950s and 1960s when the air conditioning compressor kicked in on cars on which I had adjusted the idle RPMs lower in order to save fuel while idling in traffic.
But one result of setting the RPMs low is that the engine will idle at just above the stalling point. Any sudden additional power requirement has the possibility of causing the engine to briefly shudder, especially if the RPMs are slightly lower than specs stipulate, or if there is any kind of weakness in the electrical system.
I used to sometimes experience this kind of shudder back in the 1950s and 1960s when the air conditioning compressor kicked in on cars on which I had adjusted the idle RPMs lower in order to save fuel while idling in traffic.
Senior Member
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 8,143
From: a meadow south of Atlanta
Based on the time that has elapsed since the problem was first reported here, I will be surprised if it is the alternator.
If the alternator was not working, the battery would have gone dead long ago. The car's electrical components run off the battery, not the alternator. The alternator's job is simply to keep the battery charged.
If the alternator was not working, the battery would have gone dead long ago. The car's electrical components run off the battery, not the alternator. The alternator's job is simply to keep the battery charged.
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